Florida Judicial Selection Contrasted with Missouri, Kansas, etc.

This article, Florida Gov. Rick Scott often rejects Florida Bar's lists of lawyers to nominate judges, shows how the bar's preferences can clash with a governor's.  The Florida bar's power to pick members of the Judicial Nominating Commission is checked by the Florida governor.  In contrast, the bar in "hard Missouri Plan" states (like Missouri and Kansas) has unchecked power to appoint some members of the nominating commission.  In Kansas, the bar picks a majority.

Report: Wisconsin Justices Tend to Side With Donors

Report: Wisconsin Justices Tend to Side With Donors

"justices tend to rule in favor of clients whose attorneys contribute to the justices’ election campaigns"
From the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

Related: My study of Alabama Supreme Court rulings' correlation with campaign contribution.

State’s judge selection undemocratic

State’s judge selection undemocratic

This short piece in the Lawrence Journal World argues that the Kansas Supreme Court can have democratic legitimacy as well as professional competence.

The Three Common Methods of Judicial Selection in the United States

This short piece briefly summarizes the three common methods of judicial selection in the United States and advocates the senate confirmation system found in the United States Constitution.

Money, Politics and Judicial Decisions

Money, Politics and Judicial Decisions

This article presents the results of a study of 106 decisions by the Supreme Court of Alabama from January 18, 1995 through July 9, 1999. The decisions are in the area of arbitration law and reveal the remarkably close correlation between a justice's votes on arbitration cases and his or her primary source or campaign funds. Justices whose election campaigns are funded by plaintiffs' lawyers oppose arbitration, whereas justices whose campaigns are funded by business favor arbitration. The correlation holds not just with regard to ideologically-charged doctrines, like unconscionability, but also with seemingly bland questions of contract formation, interpretation and waiver.